


synesthesia

by onlyeverthus



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 07:29:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5906020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeverthus/pseuds/onlyeverthus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The music returns to a planet deprived, and Rose and Ten are there to watch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	synesthesia

Rose and the Doctor lay on the colorless grass, catching their breath from their frantic sprint from the inside of the building-sized machine.

Rose sat up after a moment and watched part of the elaborate machine collapse in on itself. She touched her finger to her lip, frowning at the shining colorless smear on her colorless finger.

"This lack of color is a little unnerving," she said, looking back the Doctor. "I thought you said it'd be fixed once we destroyed that thing."

"It will be," he replied, sitting up beside her. "Just wait."

Rose sighed and leaned against the Doctor, her head dropping onto his shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to return to the TARDIS with its brightly colored interior and slip into a hot bath to soothe her aching body and then slide into bed with the Doctor and let him soothe her other aches with his hands and fingers and-

"Rose," the Doctor said quietly, nudging her gently.

She opened her eyes and sat up.

"Listen. Watch."

The world was very silent except for their breathing, together creating a whispery sort of harmony in the still air.

And then it started, so low she almost didn't notice it, a deep, clear note sounding across the plains.

Soon more tones joined it, filling the air with music unlike anything Rose had ever heard.

It seemed to spin around her, massaging her aches, soothing her pains and she closed her eyes as the melody filled her up from the inside, wrapping around her like a blanket.

"Rose, look," the Doctor murmured and Rose opened her eyes again.

The world around them was gradually filling with color as they watched, as if someone was slowly turning a dial. The sky brightened to a vibrant blue and the grass glowed more and more orange, deep purple flowers popping up across the landscape.

Rose looked at her hands, returning to their normal pinkish color, though quite dirty at the moment, and watched the smear of blood on her finger grow redder and redder. She looked up at the Doctor and grinned at the freckles darkening across his nose and cheeks. He grinned back at her, tweaking a yellowing strand of her hair.

"The color comes from the music, d'you see?" he said, the excitement evident in his voice.

"It's amazing," Rose said, staring around as more and more colors appeared with every new note, every new chord.

"They can't live without music and color, just like you can't live without sunlight and water. A little bit longer and we would've been too late."

Rose inhaled deeply, feeling as though the very air they were breathing was the music itself, imagining she could almost taste it.

It was utterly beautiful and Rose decided the bath and bed could wait a little while longer. She leaned back against the Doctor, smiling as his arms slipped around her, holding her close.

Her fingers entwined with his and they sat, dirty and sore, happy and content as the harmonies spiraled through the air and the world around them bloomed into color.


End file.
